Chapter 5 Section 4

ABSOLUTE RULERS OF RUSSIA

*Ivan III 1462-1505*Conquered territory around Moscow*Liberated Russia from the Mongols*Began centralizing the Russian govt*Succeeded by his son, Vasily who ruled for 28 years*He added territory and increased power of the central govt*Left throne to his son Ivan IV

RUSSIA

• Ivan IV = 1st Czar• 1533 took throne at 3

yrs old• Boyars, Russian

landowning nobles tried to take his power

• They fought to control Ivan

• At 16, Ivan seized power and crowned himself czar

• Married Anastasia, a boyar and a Romanov

IVAN THE TERRIBLE

• 1547-1560• Won great

victories• Added lands to

Russia• Gave Russia a

code of laws• Ruled justly

IVAN, THE GOOD PERIOD

• Began in 1560 after the death of Anastasia

• Accused the boyars of poisoning his wife & turned against them

• Organized his own police force to hunt down traitors and kill them

• Dressed in black and rode black horses…hmmm…

• Executed many boyars, their families and their peasants

• Gave their lands to his loyals

RULE BY TERRORAKA: THE “BAD PERIOD”

• 1581 Ivan killed his eldest son, and heir to the throne

• When Ivan died 3 years later, only his weak son was left to rule who proved to be physically and mentally incapable of ruling, and died without an heir

IVAN DOES MORE CRAZY STUFF!!!

• Without an heir to the throne Russia experienced turmoil

• Boyars struggled for power• Heirs of czars died under mysterious conditions• Impostors tried to claim the throne• 1613 representatives from many Russian cities met ot

choose the next czar• They chose Michael Romanov, grandnephew of Ivan’s

wife Anastasia• Began the Romanov dynasty which ruled Russia for

300 years (1613-1917)

TIMES OF TROUBLES

• Romanovs restored order, strengthened govt, passed a law code, and put down revolt

• Peter the Great once shared the throne with his half brother, but then became an absolute ruler

• One of Russia’s greatest reformers

• Increased the czar’s power

PETER THE GREAT

• Sefdom existed in Russia until the mid-1800s• Serfs were treated like property• Serfs were sold with the land, they could be

given away as presents, or forms of payment, they weren’t allowed to run away

• Russia had been cut off from the Renaissance and exploration

• Russia was geographically cut off from the west• Russians also had a different religion, they

practiced Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity

RUSSIA CONTRASTS WITH EUROPE

• Peter embarked on the “Grand Embassy”, a long visit to Western Europe

• He wanted to learn European customs and manufacturing techniques

• He traveled in plain clothes to conceal his identity

• Peter had a goal of westernization: he wanted Russia to compete with Europe militarily and commercially

• This was a way to make Russia stronger

PETER VISITS THE WEST

• Peter increased his own power to force change on Russia

• Brought the Russian Orthodox Church under state control

• Abolished the office of patriarch, hear of the church• Set up a group called the Holy Synod to run the

church under his direction• Reduced the power of the great landowners• Recruited men from lower-ranking families and

promoted them to positions of authority• Hired European officers to modernize his army with

European tactics and weapons• Imposed heavy taxes to pay for army

PETER’S REFORMS

• Introduced potatoes, which became a staple of Russian diet

• Started Russia’s first newspaper and edited its first issue himself

• Raised women’s status by having them attend social gatherings

• Ordered the nobles to give up their traditional clothes for Western fashions

• Advanced education by opening a school of navigation and introducing schools for the arts and sciences

• Peter believed education was the key to progress, many subjects were forced to study abroad

WESTERNIZING RUSSIA

• Peter wanted a seaport to more easily access the West

• He fought Sweden to access a piece of the Baltic coast

• It took 21 years to win the “Window of Europe”, named St. Petersburg

• At the time of Peter’s death, Russia was a major force in Europe

ESTABLISHING ST. PETERSBURG

•Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate his throne, and his family was taken prisoner•The Bolshevik Revolution, led by Lenin (communist) was sweeping through Russia•The Bolsheviks ordered the Romanov family to be executed

END OF THE ROMANOV DYNASTY